Process and device for preparing a tangle fiber



Jan. 6, 1970 A. WELBERS ET 3,488,67

PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Filed Aug. 30. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet l Jan. 6, 1970 A. WELEERS ET AL 33 PROCESS @ND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Filed Aug. 30. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Filed Aug. 30, 1967 Jan. 6, 197 A. WELBERS ET AL 5 Sheets-Sheei 3 IKEQ NWQQN m MN Jan. 6, 1970 A. WELBERS ET AL 3A$8fi71 PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Filed Aug. 30, 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Ban. 6, 1970 A. WELBERS ET AL PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Filed Aug. 30. 1967 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent 3,488,671 PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR PREPARING A TANGLE FIBER Anton Welbers, Wildtal, near Freiburg im Breisgau, and Kurt Andris and Volker Braun, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, assignors to Deutsche Rhodiaceta AG., Freiburg, Germany, a corporation of Germany Filed Aug. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 664,522 Int. Cl. D02g 1/16 US. Cl. 281.4 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Fibers are tangled by passing the fibers through a nozzle and tangentially introducing an energy-transmitting medium, such as air or gas, into the fiber passageway, with the medium stream being controlled by a resonance chamber and a recess being located in the fiber conducting canal or passageway.

Background of the invention The coherency of a multifilament fiber is usually achieved by twisting. This is true both for endless or continuous fibers and for staple fibers. The endless fibers are subjected to the rotating generally after spinning in an individual process. In recent times, however, methods have been developed which achieve the effect of the coherency of the single filament in the fiber rwithout twisting the fiber. This is accomplished by tangling the single filament in a turbulent air stream. In passing through the air stream, the individual filaments are irregularly interweaved together so that they are partially twisted and interweaved together and are partially wound into each other. Such a fiber is designated as a tangle fiber.

Tangle fibers have the advantage that, processed as warp or woof, they allow not only new weaving effects but in addition textile fabrics made therefrom are more tightly woven than those made from twined fabrics. This becomes particularly noticeable above all in materials which are used as protective materials against rain or dust, as for example with respect to maps, tents, umbrellas and rain apparel as well as in parachute materials.

For the production of such a fiber, two processes have been known until now. Both processes are based on the leading of a fiber through a nozzle. In this nozzle the fiber is exposed to an energy-transmitting medium, e.g. a gas. At this point there are two possibilities: one being described in German published application 1,214,825 in which a nozzle has two eddy zones, and the other being a nozzle as described in the supplemental Patent No. 68,427 of French Patent 1,108,890. This nozzle is based on the resonance principle. Here the fiber is conducted between nozzle and resonance chamber. This nozzle has the disadvantage, however, that the resonator operates with a finely adjusted wave length. This is disadvantageous, since the optimum wave length which the resonator must have is different according to the particular weight, the number of the individual filaments, denier, passage speed of the fiber through the nozzle, and the air pressure used.

With these processes, an optimum eifect can be achieved only for a very specific type of fiber and established process requirements. If, however, an optimum elfect is to be achieved with another fiber or another setting, a new nozzle must always be inserted. In practice the measurements of such nozzles difier so little from each other that a clean construction which operates actually optimally is possible only in connection with disproportionately high fine mechanical output.

Summary of invention An object of this invention is to provide a process which avoids these disadvantages, is optimally adaptable to all requirements, and furthermore allows high operating speeds.

The process of this invention for the production of a non-voluminous tangled fiber consists in that the fiber is conducted without lead through a nozzle, the nozzle being constructed in such a manner that it tangentially conducts an energy-transmitting medium, such as a gas stream or compressed air, by way of a resonance space into a nozzle which has a cut-in annular recess.

A fiber thus treated has outstanding tangle fiber properties.

The drawings FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional View of a nozzle in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view through FIG. 1 along the line 1A-1A;

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the optimum tangle fiber quality determination;

FIG. 3 is a bar graph comparing the frequency distri- 'bution with fixed points;

FIGS. 4A-4F are bar graphs similar to FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the elongation in the resonance chamber;

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the shifting of optimal values at various pressures; and

FIG. 7 is a graph showing the angle dependence upon the fixed points interval.

Detailed description The equipment for the carrying out of the inventive process, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 1A, consists of a fiber canal or passageway 1 which can be round or even elliptical boring, and an air canal 2 which tangentially touches the fiber canal. This air canal has an eccentrically positioned inlet boring 6 which is rotatable in the air canal 2 about an eccentric axis of rotation 7.

It is thus possible to alter the segment of the fiber canal which is directly touched by the gas stream. In addition, the nozzle includes a resonance chamber 3 which also tangentially touches the fiber canal and is in direct communication with the air canal 2 and which is closed at its back end by a displaceable piston 4 in such a manner that the length of the resonance chamber can be changed by manipulating screw 8 to change the piston, or which is fixed at a chosen optimum setting. At the height of the inlet of the air canal 2 into the fiber canal 1, the fiber canal has a recess 5 which preferably is kept at a width corresponding to the diameter of the air canal 2.

By displacing the piston 4 in the resonance chamber 3, the nozzle of the type of fiber can optimally be adapted to the pressure of the energy-transmitting medium used or to the passage speed. The thus-described nozzle operates according to the principle of an acoustic resonator, the length of the resonator is enchanced by the tangential air circulation. The nozzle can be operated both with air as well as with other gases, and also with other energytransmitting media, as they are known under the common designation of fluid. In this connection, gases are employed, e.g., air, with suitably a pressure between 1 and 8 atmospheres absolute pressure, and preferably 1.5-4.

By means of the simple alteration in comparison to known nozzles, as for example those disclosed in the French Patent 1,178,980 and US. Patent 3,006,137, there is unexpectedly achieved an entirely different eifect of the nozzle on the fiber. For the determination of the optimum tangle fiber quality obtained, the fixed point distances 1-2 of the tangle fiber shown in FIG. 2 are determined.

For this purpose the filament of a tangle fiber are vigorously separated and drawn up to the stop with a certain force depending on the denier of the fiber. A frequency distribution of the fixed points as illustrated in FIG. 3 is thus obtained. The average of the frequency distribution gives the quality factor of the fiber.

The smaller the number, the smaller the distances between the fixed points, and the better the operating requirements of the nozzle.

Of course, the number of the fixed points in such a tangled fibers is not absolutely constant. Measurements over greater intervals yield somewhat fluctuating results, yet these fluctuations are not too great.

In the FIG. 4 series of graphs measuring comparisons are carried out after 1000 m. outlet as the case may be. The measured interval in each instance amounts to 4 m. The drawings show that the nozzle operates very evenly despite in individual fluctuations.

FIG. shows that in elongation of the resonance chamber 3 the nozzle changes its manner of operation, so

that optimum settings are passed through which alternate with poor settings according to the length of the resonance chamber. The course of the resonance chamber is shown here as the abscissa and the average distance of the fixed point distribution as the ordinate. This drawing additionally shows the passage of maxima and minima changes from fiber to fiber.

Curve 1 represents a 30 denier nylon fiber with individual filaments or capillaires, curve 2 a 4S-denier nylon fiber with 12 individual filaments, curve 3 a 70 denier nylon fiber with 17 individual filaments, curve 4 a 90 denier nylon fiber with 26 individual filaments. The optimum values for the four different deniers are characterized by arrows. The curves show that these optimum values are shifted according to the type of fiber.

FIG. 6 shows the shifting of the optimum values at the same fiber at various pressures. Curve 1 is obtained at 1 atmos. absol. pressure (i.e., a.a.p.), curve 2 at 2 a.a.p, of the energy-transmitting medium. Nylon fibers, 45 denier with 13 individual filaments came into use.

FIG. 7 shows the angle dependence in changing the non-contrically positioned boring of the air canal 6.

For the clarification of the work process of the nozzle an example is presented. This example, however, serves in no way to limit the claims.

Example I A nylon fiber, 45 denier, 13 filaments are conducted through the above described nozzle. The feed speed of the fiber amounts to 750 m./ min. The discharge speed is correspondingly lower. The fiber tension amounts to about 7 g. The air pressure of the air in the nozzle used as the transmission medium amounts to 2.0 a.a.p.; the amount of air supplied 4.3 m. /hr. The nozzle has a diameter of the fiber canal of 4 mm., the recess has a height of 2 mm. and a depth of 1 mm. The air canal has a diameter of 2 mm. The length of the resonance chamber, measured from the outermost point of contact of the resonance chamber with the recess of the fiber canal amounts to 1.5 mm. The thus obtained tangled fiber has a quality factor of 55 mm.

Example II A fiber of cellulose 2 /2 acetate, denier, 50 filaments, is treated as in Example I, but with a resonance chamber length of 1.6 mm. The tangle fiber obtained has a quality factor of 50 mm.

What is claimed is:

1. In a process for making a tangle fiber from multiple filaments including conducting the filaments through a fiber conducting canal, introducing an energy transmitting medium into the nozzle tangentially to the filaments, to tangle the filaments and form the fiber, and utilizing a resonance chamber and also a recess disposed in the fiber conducting canal to control the energy transmitting medium.

2. In a process as set forth in claim 1 including adjusting the size of the resonance chamber to optimally adjust the medium current.

3. In a process as set forth in claim 2 including feeding the fiber without lead and winding it under standard ten- 4. In a process as set forth in claim 3 wherein the medium is supplied at a pressure between 1.5 and 4 atmospheres absolute pressure.

5. A tangle fiber made in accordance with the process of claim 1.

6. A device for producing a tangle fiber including a nozzle, a fiber canal in said nozzle, an energy transmitting medium passage in said nozzle tangential to said canal, a resonant chamber in said nozzle communicating with and downstream from said passage, and a recess around said canal at its juncture with said passage.

7. In a device as set forth in claim 6 wherein said recess terminates coterminous with said passage.

8. In a device as set forth in claim 7 wherein said passage is rotatable about an eccentric axis of rotation.

9. In a device as set forth in claim 8 including means for adjusting the length of said chamber.

10. In a device as set forth in claim 6 including means for adjusting the length of said chamber.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,022,566 2/1962 Daniels et al. 28-72 XR 3,110,151 11/1963 Bunting et al 57157 3,125,793 3/1964 Gonsalves 281 3,167,847 2/1965 Gonsalves 28-1 3,220,082 11/1965 Fletcher et a1 28--1 3,325,872 6/1967 Ethridge et al 281 3,333,313 8/1967 Gilmore et al. 281 3,353,344 11/1967 Clendening 5734 3,363,294 1/1968 Jeurissen et a1 281 3,364,537 1/1968 Bunting et al. 281

JOHN PETRAKES, Primary Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

